In November, Kreidler called for a $534,000 fine and a nine-month suspension of the six companies’ insurance certificates, which would have barred them from writing new coverage during that time period. Under the consent order, there will be no suspension as long as the companies commit no further violations for three years.“The companies have assured me that compliance is a top priority,” said Kreidler, “and I’m hopeful that this approach will resolve these ongoing problems.”A key issue was the companies’ repeated failure to properly document the reasons for charging higher or lower rates on certain policies. Exams and audits dating back to 1998 found the same problems cropping up repeatedly. Since 2000, Washington state insurance officials have repeatedly fined Chubb and Chubb subsidiaries, and urged them to fix the problems.

Nonetheless, repeated examinations and a series of company self-audits ordered by Kreidler since 2007 found hundreds of violations of state law, including numerous recent ones. In some cases, more than half the sample files checked had violations.

Fines imposed by the state insurance commissioner’s office do not go to the agency. The money is deposited in the state’s general fund to pay for other state services.